Mchunu advised not to disregard qualified police reservists during recruitment efforts

ActionSA has welcomed the planned recruitment of 10,000 police trainees for the 2024/2025 financial year, urging that qualified police reservists be included.

This comes as newly-appointed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu tabled his department’s budget vote earlier this week. However, he made no mention of the trained and experienced reservists.

ACTIONSA WANTS MINISTRY TO ABSORB TRAINED POLICE RESERVISTS

ActionSA said that across South Africa, police reservists, many of whom have service numbers, have answered the call of duty to assist in the fight against crime. However, their valuable contributions have been undercut for years, leading to a decline in the number of police reservists by tens of thousands over the past decade due to the collapse of the reservist programme.

ActionSA Member of Parliament Dereleen James said the reservists are also severely prejudiced by having PERSAL numbers that imply that they are employees of the State, which precludes them from any social assistance and housing. This is despite the fact that they do not get paid a salary as reservists but only receive stipends upon official call-ups.

James said it is now incumbent on Mchunu to break from the disastrous tenure of his predecessor, which led to the collapse of the reservist programme.

“ActionSA will be engaging with the Minister to immediately embark on a proactive programme to resurrect and fully integrate the thousands of able and committed reservists who are ready to contribute to SAPS’s plans to increase visibility with more boots on the ground, improve community responsiveness and detection rates, and build public confidence in the police service,” James said.

WHO QUALIFIES TO BE A RESERVIST?

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), a reservist is a person appointed by the National Commissioner as a member of the Reserve Police Service to render services as a volunteer.

There are only two categories of police reservists:

Category one: Functional Policing

• Performs general policing functions in sectors at station level as part of the sector deployment or in a unit if a specific operational need exist
• Performs duties in the Community Safety Centre
• Must wear a uniform (only after having successfully completed training)
• Performs duties under the supervision of a permanent member or experienced reservist (a reservist with at least three years’ experience)
• Must be trained in the relevant aspects of functional policing

Category two: Specialised Operational Support

• Must be a person who has particular skills or expertise that can be operationally used by the SAPS
• Shall perform specific functions in his or her field of expertise
• May, with the approval of his or her commander, wear a uniform
• Must be trained in relevant legal aspects, policy and instructions applicable to his or her specific functions